By York Van Nixon III
“Obfuscation” is a polite euphemism for downright lying often associated with the “Weeper of the House” John Boehner. Politicians like Rep. Boehner are benchmarks for lawmakers wondering how far is too far when trying to win. Of late, voter suppression has been dusted off as way to steal an election after everything else has failed. Misinformation is the key to convincing the voters of ones opponent to stay home on Election Day.
Back in the days when landed gentry galloped over emerald green hillocks in dressage hunting an elusive red fox, it was the job of the gamekeeper to throw a red herring (a stinky one) on the trail to hone the noses of his lordship’s hounds. Another explanation on the origin of “red herring” comes from the notion some escaped convicts would throw a rotting fish on an alternate path to confuse bloodhounds in hot pursuit.
Regardless which etymological derivation tickles your nose, at the core of both is good old fashioned deception. Similar political prestidigitation has been recently employed in the past two election cycles by those in the party whose mascot often smelled of rancid peanut butter.
As of yesterday, Maryland Republicans have one less trick in their bag to use in the 2012 election. They know now what most rarely found hoest politicians are aware: trying to illegally influence close elections has serious consequences. Just ask Paul E. Schurick, former Maryland governor “Bob” Ehrlich’s campaign manager. Mr. Schurick was convicted Tuesday on four counts of voter fraud.
During the 2006 gubernatorial election, Schurick tried to use robocalls to suppress the black vote in Maryland. He admitted to authorizing the calling of 112,000 voters a few hours before polls had closed in Baltimore and Prince George’s County. The recorded message told African American residents to “relax” because Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) had already won the race. Despite Schurick’s chicanery, O’Malley won the governor’s mansion.
The conviction Tuesday afternoon of a republican major operative reminds those old enough to remember the days when African Americans were required to count the number of jelly beans in a jar before they were given a ballot. Except then, it was just business as usual of keeping the “uppity” colored folks in their place. Perhaps there are still the unenlightened within the Grand Old Party who yearn for comfort filled days when mint juleps were sipped on cool verandas while unpaid labor toiled and sweated in the fields.
What occurred in Maryland should be a harbinger of what appears to be happening around the country. After the 2010 midterms, Republicans took over many state legislatures and governorships. Their new majority allows the GOP to carve up districts in their favor. Such gerrymandering is already happening in more than twenty states to assure Republican gains are not swept away by voters waking up to the reality of a party that has steadily eroded the middle class since Ronald Reagan kept a jar of jelly-bellies in the Oval Office.
Of course, not all Republicans are dishonest. Sadly, the ones who can pass the smell test are an anathema to the sensibilities of special interest groups that have hijacked the Party of Lincoln.